West Timor, Solor, Flores, Komodo, Sumbawa, Lombok and now Bali; the past 6 weeks has flown by as we skipped between these Indonesian Islands. From desolate islands and atolls, to bustling party towns, remote villages to luxurious resorts- Indonesia has had it all so far.
Together with the Atlas crew, we are now on our way to becoming scaly man-fish, with a lot of our time spent in the water rather than out. This includes Olivia, the ‘Water Ninja’, who now throws herself with the elegance of an Olympic diver off the back steps of the boat, the paddle board and into pools (with adequate supervision and only on the count of three for anyone concerned over her safety). This new found love of the water could be related to Olivia and Lo’s latest Disney craze- ‘Moana’, quotes that are now a part of the crews daily vocabulary and we will also occasionally burst into song (how far will we go? 😉 )
Surfing has also become a bit of a craze for some of the crew of both Atlas and Bay Dreamer. All shapes and forms have been trialled, either on a surfboard, stand up paddle board or kite, behind a wave or behind the dingy (or for the more extreme, in the dingy and up a wave). Watch out for sea urchins though, for those creatures can strike with a malice unknown to demons and you don’t want to end up having mini foot and butt cheek surgeries for the following days (Danny and Will).
Spiky devils aside, we are now on the hunt for a good wave as well as diving, hiking and white sandy beach spots.
When white sandy beaches haven’t been available, we’ve decided that other colours will suffice- such as the ‘pink beach’ on Padar Island, Komodo.
Game of thrones?!
By some wicked wizardary of fate, we have managed to have decent internet in time to allow us to watch the latest episodes of Game of Thrones. Using a projector, we have our own mini cinema set up on Atlas, complete with popcorn and bean bags, a weekly ritual greatly anticipated by the crew. However, Game of Thrones is now over and we will have to move on to watching something new (Moana or Frozen perhaps?)
The Komodo dragons…
Inspired by Game of Thrones, we decided to channel our inner Daenarys Targaryen (and no not in that way for anyone who has seen the latest episode….sickos)- but by visiting some real life dragons situated on Komodo Island. Stealthy, powerful creatures- we were amazed to learn that the dragons can take down animals as large as a buffalo and could apparently ‘smell the babies’.
The past eight days have been spent in Bali, where most of the crew have spent time staying on land in the quieter areas of Canggu and Ubud. A bit more ‘touristy’ than what the crew is used to, we are all crammed in as much as Bali had to offer including visting monkeys temples, relaxing in quiet villas, bargaining in local markets and blowing the dust off our dancing shoes in preparation for a party or two.
Following our Bali break, we will head to North Lombok and explore the three Gilli islands, then across to small Javanese islands on our way to Borneo for orangutang safari’ing and finally making our way more north west towards the final destination, Singapore.
// Gabbie with crew and captain
Wonderful report. Sounds like you are all having a great time and seeing beautiful scenery. Keep enjoying.